Why Maple Leafs fired Craig Berube in first major coaching change of 2026 offseason originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs are making more changes to the organization, as they are firing head coach Craig Berube after two seasons with the club.
Berube helped lead the Maple Leafs to the playoffs in 2024-25, but Toronto collapsed under his watch last year and missed the playoffs. As a result, Toronto made changes to its front office, and now those changes have extended to the coaching staff.
The 60-year-old Berube was a Stanley Cup champion as a head coach with the St. Louis Blues in 2019, and the Maple Leafs hoped he would bring that championship pedigree to Toronto. Instead, the Maple Leafs struggled this year as Berube never mixed well with the team.
Here's a breakdown of why the Maple Leafs made this coaching change.
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Why did Maple Leafs fire Craig Berube?
The Maple Leafs went 32-36-14 in 2025-26, which was the team's worst season since the 2015-16 season, when Toronto won just 29 games. Entering the season, the Maple Leafs were considered a title contender, but Toronto ended up with the worst record in the Atlantic Division, second-worst record in the Eastern Conference, and the sixth-worst record in the NHL.
After the season, the Maple Leafs fired general manager Brad Treliving and replaced him with Mats Sundin and John Chayka in the front office. Toronto is now deciding to clean house and start fresh in both the front office and on the coaching staff.
Statement from GM John Chayka on the firing of Craig Berube: pic.twitter.com/yDRRbvzKtJ
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) May 13, 2026
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